Chapter 13

Managing the Systems

Development Life Cycle

The Systems Development Life

Cycle (SDLC)
A logical sequence of activities used to identify new systems
needs and develop new systems to support those needs.
A model for reducing risk through planning, execution, control,
and documentation
The SDLC is a five phase model:
1. Systems Strategy
2. Project Initiation
3. In-House Development
4. Commercial Packages
5. Maintenance and Support

Participants in Systems Development

There are three broad groups of participants in the process:
Systems Professionals- analyze problems in current systems and
formulate solutions.
systems analysts
systems designers
programmers

End Users- primary users of the system; those for whom the system is
built; addressing their needs is critical to success.
Stakeholders- individuals either within or outside the organization who
have an interest in the system but are not end users

Systems
Strategy
- Linking
individual
system projects to the strategic objectives of the firm.

Steering Committee- provides guidance and oversights for systems projects\

CEO
CFO
CIO
Fundamental tasks of systems strategy:
Asses Strategic Information Needs
A. Strategic Business Needs
a. Vision and Mission- systems strategy requires an understanding of top
managements vision, which has shaped the organizations business strategy.
b. Industry and Competency Analysis
a. Industry Analysis- the driving forces that affect the industry
and their organizations performance, such as important trends,
significant risks, and potential opportunities
b. Competency Analysis- : a complete picture of the
organizations effectiveness as seen via four strategic filters:
resources, infrastructure, products/services, and customers

c. Legacy Systems- complicated systems too build and enhance

d. Developing an Architecture Design
a. Architecture Description- formal description of an information
system.
e. User Feedback
1. Recognizing the problem
2. Defining the problem
3. Specifying system objectives
4. Determining project feasibility
5. Preparing a formal project proposal
Recognizing the Problem
a. Reactive management - responds to problems only when they reach a crisis
state
b. Proactive management - alert to subtle signs of problems and aggressively
looks for ways to improve
Defining the Problem

Preliminary Project Feasibility

- determine how best to proceed with the project.
Technical feasibility - is the technology necessary available?
Economic feasibility - are the funds available and appropriate for the system?
Legal feasibility - does the system fall within legal boundaries?
Operational feasibility - can procedural changes be made to make the system
work?
Schedule feasibility - can the project be completed by an acceptable time
period?

Preparing a Formal Project

Proposal
Systems project proposal
- Proceed with the project or not
-It summarizes the findings of the study and
makes a general recommendation.
-It outlines the linkage between the objectives
of
the proposed system
and the business
objectives of
the firm

Develop a Strategic Systems Plan

After collecting input, the steering committee and systems professionals
evaluate the pros and cons of each proposal.
Assessing each potential projects:
- benefits
- strategic impact
- costs

Development will proceed on proposals with the greatest potential for

supporting the organizations business objectives at the lowest cost.

Create an Action Plan

The next step is to translate strategy into action
Many companies have found the balanced scorecard (BSC) a useful tool for
this step.
The BSC recommends viewing an organization using four perspectives:
-learning and growth
-internal business process
-customer
-financial

Phase II: Project Initiation

understanding users needs and problems
proposing multiple alternative solutions
assessing alternatives in terms of feasibility and cost-benefit
characteristics
selecting the best option and proceeding to the construct phase
examining whether the selected option will require in-house
development, a commercial package, or both

Systems Analysis
System analysis is a two-step process
survey of current systems
analysis of users needs

A. The Survey Step

-Before planning a new system, it is important that the current system be
evaluated carefully and thoroughly.
-There are both disadvantages and advantages of such a survey. The survey itself
is basically fact gathering. It will look at many different aspects of the current system:
data sources, Users, data stores, processes, data flows, controls, transaction
volumes, error rates, resource costs, and bottlenecks and redundant operations.
-A number of different techniques are used: observation, task participation,
personal interviews, and reviewing key documents. All this information
is
needed for the second step.

B. The Analysis Step

-This step ends with the preparation of a formal systems analysis report which
presents management and/or the steering committee the results of the survey, the
identification of the problem(s) and the requirement of the new system.

Conceptualization of Alternative Designs

.

Systems Evaluation and Selection

This process is designed to identify the best system choice. As
such, it is a very important process involving two steps.

A. Perform a Detailed Feasibility Study

technical feasibility is greatly improved when well-established technology is used vs.
new;
economic feasibility can be better evaluated now that technical details are known,
but any changes in the economic climate must also be considered;
legal feasibility deals with sensitive data etc.;
operational feasibility considers the skills needed to properly use the system and
the
implied need for training; and
schedule feasibility considers the time the new system can be up and running vs.
when it is needed.

B.Perform Cost-Benefit Analysis

Identify Costs
Identify Benefits
Compare Costs and Benefits

C. Prepare Systems Selection Report

The primary output of this evaluation is the system
selection report which includes the feasibility study, cost-benefit analysis and
discussion of benefits of each alternative. A recommendation is made.
By this stage, the decision on how the system will be built should be clear.
There are three possibilities, develop in-house, buy, or combine

D. Announcing the New System Project

The manner in which a new system project is announced is very important. Major
changes affect how people do their jobs and how they interact with their colleagues. It
must be sold to the rest of the organization.

E. User Feedback
Given the purpose of initiating a new system project, the people in charge must
always be receptive to user feedback.

The Accountants Role in Managing the

SDLC
- There are two key reasons that accountant should care about new system projects. First they cost
moneyoften big bucks. And second, the quality of the accounting information system
is a function of the process that produces them.
A. How Are Accountant Involved with SDLC?
accountants play three roles: as users of the systems, as part of the development team, and
as auditors.
B. The Accountants Role in Systems Strategy
Auditors play a role to assure that resources are not wasted on unneeded, unwanted,
inefficient, or ineffective systems.
C. The Accountants Role in Conceptual Design
Primary concerns relate to internal control andaccounting conventions and legal requirements.
D. The Accountants Role in System Selection
The accountants are best able to assure the accuracy of the numbers used in analysis
and comparison.